bioinnovel Chapter 344 Rita's Suffering and Hardship
Chapter 344 Rita's Suffering and Hardship
Chapter 344 Rita's Suffering and Hardship
Belvina slowly sat up, as if remembering something.
Just now, she sorted out her thoughts and figured out what to do next.
Belvina, supporting her waist with one hand and the chair with the other, slowly stood up.
Then, she stood there for a while to catch her breath before picking up her coat from the hanger and leaving the office.
Belvina left the classroom quickly and hurried along, not even stopping as usual when she encountered students greeting her in the corridor.
Before long, she walked out of the castle, crossed the grounds under the spring sunshine, and headed towards the school gate.
As soon as both of Belvina's feet left the school grounds, her figure vanished on the path leading to the school gate. A few seconds later, Belvina appeared hundreds of miles away in London, standing in front of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.
Place Grimoire remains unchanged, dilapidated and shabby, and even with the fine weather today, the facades of the buildings still appear gloomy.
Belvina walked up the stone steps to door number twelve and knocked on the snake-shaped door knocker.
Soon, a metallic clanging sound came from behind the door, along with the rattling of chains. After the door creaked open, Sirius Black's head popped out.
"Why are you knocking on the door for no reason!" Sirius said, annoyed. "What are you doing?" "Shut up. Put on your coat and come with me," Belvina said. "Right now, immediately."
Although he didn't know why Belvina had suddenly appeared in London, Sirius didn't ask any further questions.
Sirius turned back into the house, quickly put on his coat, then went back to the door, straightened his collar, and walked out of number twelve.
"Come with me." Belvina grabbed Sirius's arm. "We're going to see Rita Skeeter."
As she spoke, Belvina disappeared once again, along with Sirius, who had just stepped out of the house.
When Sirius, who was accompanied by a phantom, came to his senses, the shabby and dilapidated Grimmauld Place was gone. The place where he was standing now had neat and orderly houses, and looked much better than Grimmauld Place.
"Where is this?" Sirius asked. "Are you sure you can see Rita Skeeter here?"
"This is Fukuo District, and Barty Crouch lives nearby. Do you think we could meet Rita Skeeter?" Belvina said.
Barty Crouch's registered address with the Ministry of Magic is in the Flintwell district, where the Crouch family has lived for many years.
Similar to the Black family, the pure-blood Crouch family also lives in the Muggle community, hidden among the Muggles.
After all, not all wizarding families are as extravagant as the Malfoys, insisting on living in a manor and raising white peacocks.
"You traveled all the way from Scotland back to Grimmauld Place, and then from Grimmauld Place all the way here, just to see Rita Skeeter?" Sirius asked.
"That's right." Belvina nodded. "I have to see her today."
"Did she find something at Crouch's house?" Sirius asked again. "Otherwise, there's no reason for you to be in such a hurry."
“That’s right.” Belvina nodded again. “She saw someone who had been missing for a long time.”
Sirius's reaction was exactly the same as Belvina's: first, he was surprised, then he began to doubt whether he had misheard.
As the two were suspiciously loitering around the neighborhood, a large, plump beetle suddenly appeared in front of them, leading them towards a square, brick-red, two-story building.
Led by the giant beetle, Belvina and Sirius sidestepped through the low bushes and entered a secluded courtyard.
In the afternoon shadows cast by the house, the giant beetle shimmered with an eerie blue light, and moments later, Rita Skeeter appeared.
In an instant, Belvina forgave Rita Skeeter for her harassment.
The work of secretly investigating Crouch must have been very difficult. Rita's strange curly hair was now a mess, and her red nail polish had peeled off.
At this moment, Rita Skeeter is completely unrelated to the stereotypical image of an unscrupulous journalist.
"Is there anything to eat?" Rita asked.
Sirius shook his head.
Belvina rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a bar of chocolates.
"Thank you!" Rita snatched the chocolate, tore open the wrapper, and stuffed the whole bar of chocolate into her mouth.
"Have you not eaten in a long time?" Belvina asked. "Even if you're spying on someone, you don't have to make yourself look so predatory, do you?"
Rita chewed with difficulty, and it took her a while to swallow the chocolate.
"I've been here for almost half a month, never leaving for a moment," Rita said. "Is there any water?"
Sirius shook his head again.
Belvina then turned her trench coat pockets inside out, indicating that there was nothing in them.
"How about I conjure some water for you with the Cleansing Spell?" Belvina said. According to the Standard Spell, the water conjured by the Cleansing Spell is drinkable.
Rita Skeeter opened her mouth in exasperation.
A slightly strange scene unfolded: Belvina pointed her wand at Rita Skeeter, and the water sprayed from the tip of the wand landed precisely in Rita's open mouth.
Sirius frowned at the sight, feeling that something was amiss.
After a while, Rita Skeeter, who had finished drinking, said, "I saw Jorkins on this block, Bertha Jorkins, who has been missing for a long time."
"Are you sure you're not mistaken?" Sirius asked cautiously.
Sirius had no doubt about Rita Skeeter's professional abilities, but he didn't trust her character.
"You're questioning a professional journalist, Mr. Black," Rita Skeeter said. "Anyone can be mistaken, but I absolutely cannot be."
Rita Skeeter's attitude toward the Black siblings was somewhat strange; she was more afraid of Sirius Black, who had beaten Barnabas Guffy, than of Belvina, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic.
"It's Bertha Jorkins, no doubt about it," Rita continued. "I interviewed Jorkins before, and even if she were just a pile of bones, I would still recognize her."
Years ago, Rita tried to interview Jorkins to get inside information about the Ministry of Magic, but the result was very disappointing.
For example, the Ministry of Magic had an apple, which Barty Crouch took, but in Jorkins' mouth, Cornelius Fudge ate the apple.
From that moment on, Rita Skeeter remembered the talkative and confused Bertha Jorkins vividly.
"Is she alright?" Belvina asked. "I mean, Jorgins."
Rita thought for a moment and said, "I think it's fine. The clothes are a bit old, but they're very clean. I know what you want to ask. There are no signs of imprisonment on Jokins. She doesn't seem to have escaped."
Seemingly worried that Sirius might again question the journalist's professionalism, Rita quickly added another sentence.
She said, "Jorgins had no obvious injuries, his clothes were very clean, and his hair was very neatly styled. He was at least cleaner and tidier than I am now."
"When did you meet her?" Belvina pressed. "What was she doing at the time?"
“When I wrote to you yesterday evening,” Rita replied, “she suddenly came out of Crouch’s house, stood at the door for a moment, and then went back inside.”
Rita thought for a moment, then said, "I don't know when she appeared at Crouch's house; it was like she appeared out of thin air. However, that does match up with the fact that Crouch's family consumes a lot of food."
During the more than six months that Bertha Jorkins was declared missing, was she hiding in Barty Crouch's house the whole time?
If Joggins has been hiding in the Fukuoka district all along, what is her relationship with the Crouch father and son? How much of the secret between the Crouch father and son does she know?
"Oh, by the way, not long after Jorkins showed up, Barty Crouch rushed back," Rita continued. "That old man Crouch usually doesn't leave work this early."
As she spoke, Rita Skeeter frowned in confusion.
She had come specifically for Crouch and his son, but found no trace of Barty Jr. Instead, she spotted the long-lost Bertha Jorkins.
Rita Skeeter looked at Belvina; she needed someone to explain why Bertha Joggins was involved with the Crouch father and son.
“I’m confused too, Rita,” Belvina said. “Normally, Johansson and Crouch are just normal superiors and subordinates; they used to work in the same department.”
Rita Skeeter scratched her messy hair. She really wanted to tie that damned house-elf up and force some useful information out of him.